Totb 2009
- Thread starter Rory
- Start date
59bhp
Member +
Well as nick is still recovering I’ll fill you in on what happened over the weekend. Nick managed to finish second on the fwd handling class being beaten only by a 420bhp fiat coupe with very large and expensive brakes. Nick, having been first for a large amount of time was just knocked off the top spot by the fiat which managed to reduce his time by a second on his very last run. Nick, struggling for grip with his very worn 888’s and suspected head bolt failure, a faster run just wasn’t possible. However for his first time at TOTB, second (handling wise) is still a very large achievement and one he was very pleased with.
With regard to the quarter mile, as we had spent most of the day prepping and tinkering for the handling circuit there wasn’t a huge amount of time for any decent quarter mile runs. There was two practice runs in the wet at the beginning of the day and one at the very end. The final run which was his first time in the dry managed a 13.5 with a top speed over the kilometre of 135. This was with the aforementioned head bolt failure, very, very worn 888’s and the turbocharger disintegrating half way up causing large misfires. Nick felt that with the car at 100% and with a tiny bit more practice a mid 12 second pass was defiantly achievable.
All in all it was a fantastic day with the weather only slightly dampening the experience, with some more prep time and a little more organization, next year he will be able to do some real damage. I would just like to say Nick drove like an absolute legend and I (along with everybody else who was there) is very proud of him.
With regard to the quarter mile, as we had spent most of the day prepping and tinkering for the handling circuit there wasn’t a huge amount of time for any decent quarter mile runs. There was two practice runs in the wet at the beginning of the day and one at the very end. The final run which was his first time in the dry managed a 13.5 with a top speed over the kilometre of 135. This was with the aforementioned head bolt failure, very, very worn 888’s and the turbocharger disintegrating half way up causing large misfires. Nick felt that with the car at 100% and with a tiny bit more practice a mid 12 second pass was defiantly achievable.
All in all it was a fantastic day with the weather only slightly dampening the experience, with some more prep time and a little more organization, next year he will be able to do some real damage. I would just like to say Nick drove like an absolute legend and I (along with everybody else who was there) is very proud of him.
Nick@TD.co.uk
Registered Trader <a href="http://www.TuningD
Well put mike appreciate the time to write that out and thanks to everyone for the support and for anyone i didnt get a good chat with im sorry was a mental day trying to focus constantly, as said we were mapping the GT early hours of saturday morning and as we went to 1.7bar it appears we stretched the headbolts/headgasket failure but we gave it a go, running 1.4bar on 1/4mile and 1bar on the handling circuit i felt we did ok.
Also we we're testing a short ratio gearbox which for my driving style didn't suit very well.
But yet im still very happy with 2nd place in the handling and think we didnt do to bad tbh
We will be better prepared for the coming events and we WILL be competing in alot more soon doing the Starlet owners proud!
Many Thanks
~Nick @ Tuning Developments LTD
Rory
Lifer
Well done buddy, you did us all proud.
Im sure you will have the car fixed in no time, and competing again in the future.
Superb.
Im sure you will have the car fixed in no time, and competing again in the future.
Superb.
Mike@TD.co.uk
Registered Trader <a href="http://www.Tuning
Still pulling strong too fella, shame it didn't work out on the day to get the full potential on the 1/4 mile.
Videos to follow soon peeps...
Mike @ Tuning Developments LTD
Starlet_Sam
Moderator, Regional Area Reps Supervisor & Gay Car
Crap about all the problems but very well done. Shame you won't be at the track day, it's a very good example of a well thought out GT.
Dane_Bristol
Member +
Well done indeed Nick good man !! 
A
Animal GT
Guest
wat setup you runing nick??
wel done by the way!
wel done by the way!
Hi all - NigelO - the blue Fiat Coupe driver - just thought I'd pop in and say hello
It was great talking to you guys on Sunday - great to find such a friendly bunch - TBH, this is what the FWD class is all about - some of the other teams in the 'higher' classes take it way too seriously
Anyway, just to put right a couple of inaccuracies earlier in the thread - 420bhp is probably about right, but I've screwed the compression on one cylinder - its at around 100psi, so there's every chance it could be less than that.
Secondly, the 'huge' Coupe brakes are standard - obviously I'm running uprated discs and pads, but 305mm with Brembo four-pots is how it left the factory
I know I was putting out a lot more power than the Starlet, but I reckon I was also around half a tonne heavier - last year I stripped the car to within an inch of its life and it still weighed in at 1250 kg - this year, all I did was swap the seats and lose the spare wheel.
Finally, Nick has youth on his side - I'm probably old enough to be his dad!
However - this takes nothing away from your efforts - second in your first ever TOTB is hugely impressive - I've done five now, so I know how much time and effort goes into it - its definitely not just a case of "wind up the boost and point it up the strip"
It was really exciting towards the end of the session - I managed to pull the 43.78 out of the hat in my fifth and final run - the tension as Nick lined up for his last run was superb - I'm chuffed that you didn't quite manage it, but you were a great competitor
Will we see you there again next year?
Cheers
Nigel
- just thought I'd pop in and say helloIt was great talking to you guys on Sunday - great to find such a friendly bunch - TBH, this is what the FWD class is all about - some of the other teams in the 'higher' classes take it way too seriously
Anyway, just to put right a couple of inaccuracies earlier in the thread - 420bhp is probably about right, but I've screwed the compression on one cylinder - its at around 100psi, so there's every chance it could be less than that.
Secondly, the 'huge' Coupe brakes are standard - obviously I'm running uprated discs and pads, but 305mm with Brembo four-pots is how it left the factory
I know I was putting out a lot more power than the Starlet, but I reckon I was also around half a tonne heavier - last year I stripped the car to within an inch of its life and it still weighed in at 1250 kg - this year, all I did was swap the seats and lose the spare wheel.
Finally, Nick has youth on his side - I'm probably old enough to be his dad!
However - this takes nothing away from your efforts - second in your first ever TOTB is hugely impressive - I've done five now, so I know how much time and effort goes into it - its definitely not just a case of "wind up the boost and point it up the strip"
It was really exciting towards the end of the session - I managed to pull the 43.78 out of the hat in my fifth and final run - the tension as Nick lined up for his last run was superb - I'm chuffed that you didn't quite manage it, but you were a great competitor
Will we see you there again next year?
Cheers
Nigel
Last edited:
welcome nigel, nice write up you put there matey and nice of you to be so friendly about it, some clubs take it far too serious as you say.
hats off to you for coming first in the handling at TOTB, may i ask what mods you have done to the fiat?
was a very close competition from what i saw but congrats on the win
mark
hats off to you for coming first in the handling at TOTB, may i ask what mods you have done to the fiat?
was a very close competition from what i saw but congrats on the win
mark
OK - here goes...
Going...
CP forged pistons (standard CR)
Cunningham forged rods
Mildly-flowed head, standard valves
Columbo & Bariani 'fast road' cams
Garrett GT2871 turbo (0.64 AR turbine housing)
Live mapping to standard ECU
384cc injectors, with 3.8 bar FPR
Forge front mount intercooler
Forge straight intake pipe with Ramair filter
Forge dump valve
Hayward & Scott 3" downpipe, custom 3" exhaust system
6 speed gearbox (five as standard for the base 20vt - 6 speeds on the LE and Plus models)
Cornering...
Sparco upper strut brace
Custom lower subframe brace
Koni shocks
Eibach springs
Uprated ARBs front and rear
Polybushed wishbones
Stopping...
DBA 4000 discs
Pagid Yellow pads
Dot 4 racing fluid
Custom braided hoses
The unusual thing about this car is the mileage - its on 218,000 at the moment, and growing by 25,000 - 30,000 a year. Its a genuine daily driver, which often does huge distances (500-mile days aren't rare for me).
Its very carefully mapped so that its usable - I get 28mpg on the daily commute, and easy 35 mpg cruising the motorways at legal (ish) speeds. When trying, I can get over 40mpg.
Best quarter to date has been 12.38 @ 118 at a very warm Santa Pod. Top speed is 'unknown' - I reckon around 180 (its geared for 195)
There are MUCH more powerful Coupes out there (mine was definitely the least powerful at TOTB - always has been). The biggest output we've seen is well over 600bhp from a 2.4 litre conversion. It was at TOTB two years ago, but snapped a driveshaft on the first launch of the day
There - Nigel's Coupe in a couple of hundred words - how can a description be so quick when I've put six years and around £20k into it?
Going...
CP forged pistons (standard CR)
Cunningham forged rods
Mildly-flowed head, standard valves
Columbo & Bariani 'fast road' cams
Garrett GT2871 turbo (0.64 AR turbine housing)
Live mapping to standard ECU
384cc injectors, with 3.8 bar FPR
Forge front mount intercooler
Forge straight intake pipe with Ramair filter
Forge dump valve
Hayward & Scott 3" downpipe, custom 3" exhaust system
6 speed gearbox (five as standard for the base 20vt - 6 speeds on the LE and Plus models)
Cornering...
Sparco upper strut brace
Custom lower subframe brace
Koni shocks
Eibach springs
Uprated ARBs front and rear
Polybushed wishbones
Stopping...
DBA 4000 discs
Pagid Yellow pads
Dot 4 racing fluid
Custom braided hoses
The unusual thing about this car is the mileage - its on 218,000 at the moment, and growing by 25,000 - 30,000 a year. Its a genuine daily driver, which often does huge distances (500-mile days aren't rare for me).
Its very carefully mapped so that its usable - I get 28mpg on the daily commute, and easy 35 mpg cruising the motorways at legal (ish) speeds. When trying, I can get over 40mpg.
Best quarter to date has been 12.38 @ 118 at a very warm Santa Pod. Top speed is 'unknown' - I reckon around 180 (its geared for 195)
There are MUCH more powerful Coupes out there (mine was definitely the least powerful at TOTB - always has been). The biggest output we've seen is well over 600bhp from a 2.4 litre conversion. It was at TOTB two years ago, but snapped a driveshaft on the first launch of the day
There - Nigel's Coupe in a couple of hundred words - how can a description be so quick when I've put six years and around £20k into it?